


Come Down to the Water Where the Sky is Blue and Yellow

by armouredescort



Series: A Long Road to Courtship [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Beach Episode, Beaches, Day At The Beach, Fluff, Gen, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Water Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armouredescort/pseuds/armouredescort
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allura convinces Shiro to go to the beach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Down to the Water Where the Sky is Blue and Yellow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [80000_Bees](https://archiveofourown.org/users/80000_Bees/gifts).



> For my GF, who's had a bad time of it lately and requested "sugary Shallura" when I asked if I could write her a little ficlet. She's also let me shout many Voltron ideas at her, so now there's a huge list of fluff that needs to be written.

They landed on the planet after scanning it for Galra. From a distance, it almost looked like Earth, with shapes of green and blue dominating the surface, and even ice caps at the top and bottom. Unlike Earth, it had a vivid yellow ring around it. Lance had whooped in joy as Coran cruised the ship over one of the planet's many oceans. The rest of the Paladins were already planning their own projects, eager to spend their free time on the ground.

Going through the landing procedure was excruciating, with four Paladins almost too excited to do their parts properly. Even Keith seemed to be having trouble concentrating, a soft and happy expression pushing away the thin-lipped and stern face he liked to wear. When the castle finally landed, Lance was the first out, closely followed by Hunk and Pidge, with Keith bringing up the rear.

"Be careful," Shiro shouted after retreating backs. "Don't go without your buddy, and always have your bayards on you!"

The ring intersected the hazy sky from north to south. Lush, viridian vegetation stretched out around the Castle of Lions from where it had landed on top of a hill. To the east was the ocean, and to the west was the tree-line to a thicker forest. The salt in the air mixed with the freshness of recently cut grass, and somewhere there were berries and flowers releasing their lush aroma.

"Let them have their fun. They'll be back to training in a few days," said Allura.

"I know, and I know it's good for them to have a break, but we don't know if there are any creatures here that could maul them," replied Shiro.

He folded his arms, tense. Sure, it was pretty, but what if they had missed something?

"The planet is safe. We scanned it."

"For Galra. What about large animals looking for a snack?"

"Shiro, honestly, we scanned for those as well. There's nothing here that we can't deal with," said Allura.

She laid one hand on Shiro's shoulder and squeezed lightly. He didn't seem to loosen up, still staring off at where the Paladins had run off to. Lance and Keith were heading in the direction of the beach while Pidge and Hunk were wandering towards the forest in search of fruit and vegetables to test for human and Altean consumption.

"They'll be fine. Now did you want to go to the beach or the forest? Or did you have something else in mind?" Allura asked.

Shiro let out a long breath, almost turning it into a whistle.

"The beach sounds nice," said Shiro.

Allura nodded. Beach it was.

*****

The sand was hot under their feet as they picked their way down the bank towards where Lance and Keith had an umbrella set up. Allura didn't seem to mind it – her shapeshifting ability, probably, Shiro mused – and skipped ahead without any discomfort.

She was wearing a swimsuit very close to the design and shape of a human wetsuit, although the fabric was closer to the thickness of a regular swimsuit. It was a soft teal and pink, short-sleeved, and Shiro assumed it was short underneath her carefully wrapped towel. Sensibly, her masses of white hair had been wrangled into a bun.

As for himself, Shiro had worn the equivalent of a winter wetsuit: long-sleeves and legs all the way, panels of grey and white breaking up the black. He had never felt comfortable with his top off at the beach, and since he'd been captured by the Galra, there were some scars he didn't want to aggravate with sunburn.

They were sharing the load of umbrellas and snacks, Allura carrying the food basket while Shiro shouldered the umbrellas. She didn't seem to mind the weight at all, pausing every now and then for Shiro to catch up.

"Should we sit with Keith and Lance or find our own spot?" Shiro asked as he approached her.

He shifted a little from side to side to stop the dry sand from overheating his feet.

"Our own spot. Let them have their fun. Let us have our own fun," said Allura.

They set up far enough away that they couldn't hear the others' conversation, but not so far that Shiro couldn't see what they were doing, or hear them if they shouted for help. Allura looked like she was holding back a thought, as if she wanted to go a little further away, but she understood the need for Shiro to be able to see at least some of the Paladins.

"Oh! Cold," Shiro said, quite out of reflex rather than any true complaint as they went down to the water.

It was nice after the heat of the sand. Shiro waded out until the water reached his thighs when he realised Allura hadn't followed him.

"It's nice, come on!" he called.

Allura was standing at the edge, letting the water run over her feet but not coming any further. Shiro turned back.

"What's the matter, princess?"

Shaking her head, Allura replied, "It's nothing. A memory."

"Good or bad?"

"Oh," she said. Then, "A good one. Let's make another good memory."

This time, Shiro held Allura's hand as they went out, water reaching all the way to their waists before Allura playfully splashed Shiro in the face.

He sputtered. It was salty like Earth's. For a moment he forgot he was in space, and scooped the water with his fingers to splash Allura back. He was twenty-five, having some fun with a friend, happy and carefree.

She squeaked in surprise, then flicked more water at him. They kept doing this, the splashes turning into small waves, and finally Shiro lunged forward and tackled Allura around the waist, dunking himself as well as her as he dove. Down Allura went in a tangle of limbs, and as soon as she went under, Shiro let go.

"You wicked man," Allura complained.

"Didn't you want me to lighten up?"

There was no replying to that. Instead Allura heaved an armful of water onto Shiro.

"Well, I shall have to challenge you to a fight!" she declared.

"Accepted," replied Shiro.

They circled one another, ready to tackle one another. Allura made the first move, but Shiro side-stepped her. The water seemed easier to move in than the ocean at home, like it was less dense. The agility threw Shiro, leaving him wide open for an attack. Not to be beaten so easily, Allura whipped around and grabbed Shiro from behind, leaning backwards and letting her body drop into the water underneath him.

When they came up, Shiro conceded, pushing his fringe from his eyes, skin a little pink from the sun.

"I think that's enough for now. I'm getting burnt."

"You humans are so fragile to sunlight. Well, not Lance and Hunk. I've never seen them burn," said Allura. "Yet Keith, Pidge, and yourself go red so easily."

"You've never been burnt?" asked Shiro.

"No," said Allura. "But if you're going under the umbrella, I might as well follow."

Shiro shrugged, said, "As you wish" and started to wade back to the shore. He took Allura's hand to escort her back, his fingers lacing between hers. Had it been anyone else, Allura would have pulled away and scolded them for taking her hand so suddenly. It wasn't the done thing with royalty.

Yet Allura didn't mind following Shiro's lead, and together they curled up on towels under their umbrella. Shiro rested on his belly, arms folded underneath him, legs straight out. He watched Allura rummage around in the snack basket, blinked, and the next thing he knew was waking up to Allura gently shaking his shoulder.

For a second, Shiro thought something was wrong, and he scrambled up, adrenaline washing away the last of his dozy state. His right hand glowed purple by instinct. Then he saw Allura and she had pulled herself backwards a little, concern etched on her face.

The shadows had lengthened, and down the beach, Lance and Keith had been joined by Pidge and Hunk. They appeared to be napping, or at least lying down next to one another without fighting. A bowl of berries had appeared between Shiro and Allura's towels at some point.

"Pidge and Hunk found some fruit. I thought you'd like some," said Allura.

Shiro's hand powered down.

"My apologies. For –" he gestured at his prosthetic, clenching it to shake off the activation. "– for that."

Allura nodded, then offered the bowl to him.

"How long was I asleep?" asked Shiro.

"About three of your earth hours. Of course time moves faster here because of the different solar system," she said.

The berries were a dark red, but they tasted more like a citrus than raspberries. Tangy. Kind of orange-y? It felt nice to have some solid food between his teeth, instead of the food goop they'd been eating.

"You looked peaceful," said Allura. "Nothing was troubling you in your sleep."

"You must have been bored having only an unconscious me for company," Shiro said.

"I read a silly romance story on my comm pad," said Allura. "Had a half earth hour nap, went for another swim. I wasn't bored. I was also at peace."

She popped a berry into her mouth and chewed it, smiling at Shiro. She mentioned that the other Paladins had been incredibly thrown off by the fact that Shiro was actually asleep. Of course they had all taken pictures with their comm pads. Pidge had drawn flowers over the top of Shiro's head and written "#SleepWellSpaceDad" on it, whatever that meant. Lance, on the other hand, illustrated some sort of caricature that he called a "kitty plushie" underneath Shiro's arms on his.

That had lasted a good ten minutes before Allura shooed them off, and woke Shiro up.

"Are you feeling rested?" asked Allura.

"Yes," said Shiro, and then after a moment of contemplation. "Yes. I am. Thank you, princess."

Allura couldn't resist beaming her approval, smile widening as Shiro grinned in return.


End file.
